My longtime close friend, since the mid-’80s, and bandmate in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Mick Berry — drummer/actor/playwright/stand-up comic extraordinaire — will be at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival performing his masterful one-man play, Keith Moon: The Real Me. In it, he recreates the alternately very funny and tragic life of Who drummer Keith Moon. There are many blurbs praising Micko’s playing and performance, but perhaps the best is from Keith Moon’s daughter Mindy, reflecting on Micko’s faithful recreations of her dad’s drumming: “Now I know what my dad’s drumming sounded like.”

Drummer’s Bible front cover

Micko is also the co-author of what is almost certainly the best-selling drum book of the new millennium, The Drummer’s Bible, a guide to playing every style under the sun from Afro-Cuban to Zydeco, along with our mutual friend and Micko’s co-author Jason Gianni, instructor at the Drummer’s Collective in NYC (which changed its name relatively recently, but I’m too lazy to look up the new name) and winner of a Platinum Record with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, (Micko is a master of Afro-Cuban and New Orleans-style drumming, while Jason is a master of off-time/compound-meter drumming; but they can both play almost any style to perfection — yes, they’re that good.)

Micko is also the co-author of Stage Fright, with Micheal Edelstein, PhD, a book on how to beat stage fright. with interviews from performers including Melissa Etheridge, Robin Williams, David Brenner, Mose Allison, Jason Alexander, and Maya Angelou. An expanded edition under a different, more accurate title, with a different cover, will appear in 2020.

As for the Fringe Fest, ticket max out at about 12 pounds ($16 dollars), so if you’re there and want to pay about what you’d pay for super-hero schlock from Hollywood, check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

Themostcommonrole for a bassistis,of course,to support his or her band rhythmically and harmonically. Bassists are not limited to any specific role, however, as we can do considerably more, such as playingthehook(orthemelody)andsoloing, improvising, and comping.

Providingasolidfoundationforabandisstill,however, the usual role of the bassist—especially if you playinadanceband.Thebassististhebridgebetween themelodicplayersandtherhythmsection.Youlivein bothworlds:melodyandrhythm.Youarethatbridge.

There is truth in the saying that “You make most of yourmoneybelow the fifth fret.” Youestablish the chordbeing playedandthe basisofthe pulsesimultaneously by playing the root note of the chord on the first beat of a measure (and at most chord changes). Next in importanceto the root, usually, is the fifth, then the third or seventh. Prettysimplestuff,butitworks.

It is also commonto play patterns. Bass lines. This does not prevent you from varying the pattern in a musical way by slightly changing the notes played, note duration, or by adding a little syncopation, but over the course of a song there will still typically be a pattern. Thismightseemobvious,oreasy,butyou need to lock in with the drummer, be aware of solos, noticewhen the leadsinger changesthe form,watch the dancers on the floor, try not to knock over your drink,andstillkeepitinteresting.

You can learn a lot by watching the dancers and seeing the effects of your playing. A groove is a pattern, a predictable sound that dancers can follow. Watch them. Bassists (and the rest of the band) may get bored playingthesamelinesoverandoveragain, so, of course you’ll fill and vary the pattern in other ways, butifyoubreak the groove too often, dancers will get out of sync, the threadwillbebroken,andthedancerswillstop.

One way to be creative, andkeep dancershappy, is to understand playing “in the pocket.” This is often described as playing in such a way that the groove is very solid. The bassist locks in with the drummer and never wavers. Using the standard rock beat as an example, the drummer plays kick drum on beat one (thedownbeat)andalsoonbeatthree,andthesnare on beats two and four. The bassist also plays precisely on the downbeat, followed by a pattern. That pattern can be a little ahead of the beat or behind the beat or exactlyonthebeat. Aslongasthedrummerand bassistare in syncwith eachother, andplay/feelthe downbeat at thesame time, theyare in thepocket. You know it when you’re in it, as it feels like the music is playingyou,ortheentirebandisoneinstrument.

If you are not playing for dancers, you can leave the groove at any time—but returning to it provides resolution in a song. For instance, in jazz, the bassist (or moreoften a horn player or pianist) plays the “head” (the melody played in the first verse of a multi-verse song)afterseveralchorusesofsolostobringthetunetoa close.Andtheaudiencewillrecognizeit—“Ohlook, they’re playing that theme again”—and any improvisationthatcamebeforethe final statement of the headwillseemintentional.

In the same way, once you have established the basic foundation of a song, look for holes where nothing much is happening—a sustained note or chord perhaps, or a straight groove. You can then find a space to develop an idea—either melodically or rhythmically. You can repeat a note, syncopate, or play (a)note(s)outsideofthepatternyou’veestablished.

Youcanalsointentionallyleaveholesbyresting, as in Reggae bass lines. This sets up a pattern that extends across measures rather than a pattern that repeats within a single measure. It still allows complexity, but in a relaxed context. It also allows your bandmatesalotofspace. Study Miles Davis to learn about the spaces in music.

Developing your own style has a lot to do with knowing when to play and when not to. In a few words: “If in doubt, lay out.” Typically, if there are vocals, you simplify and come down in volume to allowthefocustobeonthevocalist.

Another important aspect of playing bass is to learn tousefillstastefully.Fillsareusuallyplayedattheend of four– (or eight- or twelve-) measure patterns that lead to a new section of a song or the repeat of a verse. Theyarenotplayedinrandomplaces.

Thisdoesn’t meanthat abassistmuststrictly follow rules.Jazz musicians and jam bands often break rules, and often get away with it—sometimes with brilliant results. It is simply helpful to know that some styles soundbetterwhenyouplaypatternstypicalofthem.

The bass now encompasses everything from standup bass to electric bass to synthesized and sampled bass. Basses themselves now feature not just 4 strings, but 5, 6, and even 12 strings; they’re produced with up to 28 frets. There are both fretted and fretless basses, acoustic bass guitars, piccolo basses, and onboard-MIDIbasses.Andit’scertainthatmorevariationsarewaitinginthewings.

The technique of playing these instruments has also evolvedgreatly over the years.Basstechnique isvirtually unlimited now. You can combine nearly any style with any other, from anywhere in the world. You can use effects, tap, slap, pluck, pick, thump, play with a bow (or an e-bow). You can lay down an unmistakable heavy groove or take extended solos in a jam format. You can also just play roots, fifths, and octaves on a standup or a P-bass and be happy.

As one of my deepest influences, John Entwistle from The Who, said when asked what he thoughtwhenhesawanotherbassplayer,andwhathe felt about the camaraderie of bassists: “The first thing I think of is poor fellow” (and, paraphrasing,“poorbastard”). We are underrated and underappreciated, but essential.

Like this:

“I find something very repellant in the usual love song. I can write about spiders and alcoholics and suicides, but when it comes to love I’m stuck. If it’s my bag to write horrible, sick songs which disturb people…, then I’m content with the job.”